James denton



(No Model.)

J. BENTON.

KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 4,1882.

5 WI TN 555 55 NrrEo STATES PATENT .Frreia.

JAMES BENTON, OF AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN K. VVARNICK, OF SAME PLACE.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 255,945, dated April 4, 1882,

Application filed January 14, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BENTON, of Amsterdam, in the county of Montgomery, in the State of. New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Knitting-Machines, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

The nature of this invention consists in cerro tain mechanism and contrivances, in combination with needle-cylinder and needles, for the purpose of feeding thereto the thread or yarn requiredin the process of knittin gsin gle-threaded striped fabrics, all as hereinafter fully described, and specifically set forth in the claims. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention, illustrating its connection with an ordinary circularknitting machine. Fig. 2 illustrates that pertion of the actuating device of my invention which is located under the needle-cylinder. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the threadguide with the devices for severing the threads and for forcing the same forward to the loopwheel or burr which carries it into the beards of the needles. Figmt is a front end view of the thread-guides, and Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the same.

Similar letters of reference represent like '0 parts in all the figures.

A denotes the rotary needle-cylinder of a circular-knitting machine, and B the knittingneedles secured in a Vertical position to the periphery of the aforesaid cylinder.

'. 0 represents the loop-wheel or burr, also sometimes termed the sinker-wheel, which carries the thread or yarn into the beards of the needles B. c c aret wo thread-guides which deliver 40 the thread or yarn to the loop-wheel G. Said thread-guides consist of tubular thread-pasposts, 1' r, on which is mounted a rock-shaft, 0, arranged lengthwise the thread-guides.

To the front end of the rock-shaft is secured a knife, K, which is sharpened on both of its side edges and around its base, which latter is made V-shaped. The said knife is arranged contiguous to the front end of the threadguides, and is of such a width as to cover the throat or delivering end of one of said threadguides. The rock-shalt a imparts an oscillating motion to the knife K, and thus causes the same to alternately cut the threads issuing from the thread-guides and immediately close the throat of that thread-guide whose thread has been severed by the knife. The rock shaft a receives its motion from a pitman, d, which slides in guides s on the'side 0f the thread-guide and has its upper end engaging an arm, b, projecting from the rock-shaft. The lower extremity of the pitmau terminates with a sloping or beveled foot-piece, g, which lies in the path of a lug, i, fixed to the side of a ratchet-wheel, W. The encounter of the lug with the beveled foot-piece g, incident to the rotation ofthe wheel XV, lifts the pitlnau d, and this in turn lifts the arm I) of'the rock-shaft and partially turns the latter in one direction. A beveled shoulder or projection, l, fixed to the side of the wheel W at another point and brought in collision with a lag or stud, h, on the side of the pitman by the rotation of said wheel, serves to draw the pitman down, and thereby turns the rock-shaft in the opposite direction, thus producing an intermittent reciprocal rotary motion otfsaid rock shaft, which in turn imparts auinterinitteut oscillating motion to the knifeJK. In order to obtain aquicker and more effective movement of the knife K, the rock-shaft a is provided on its under side with a V-shaped cam, e, and directly under this cam there is a spring-plate, f, secured to the top of the threadguides c, and bearing with its free end against saidcam, and the connection of the arm I) of the rock-shaft with the pitman dis made by aslot, .9, or vertical elongation of an eye in the pitman, through which slot theend of the'arm b is extended. When the pitman is actuated to turn the rock-shaft the cam c of the latter is caused to traverse the spring-plate f, and when midway thereofthe apex ofthe V shaped loop-wheel.

end of the cam is brought to bear on said spring-plate, and thus causes the latter to exert increased pressure. So soon as the apex of the cam 6 leaves the center of the springplate f said cam is caused to slip to one side on said spring-plate, and thereby imparts a quick turn to therock-shaft, which quick movement is transmitted to the knife K, and thereby causes the latter to more positively sever the thread of one of the thread'guides c, and immediately close the throat of said threadguide.

The ratchet-wheel WV is operated by a pawl, P, which is connected to a lever, L, or any other suitable known mechanism extended under the needle-cylinder, and actuated automatically by a cam or ratchet combined with the latter or with its spindle.

19 represents a blow-pipe, having its diseh arg end eommunicating with the interior of the thread-guide c in such a manner as to produce a current of air or other analogous or suitable fluid orgaslongitudinally through said threadguide toward the delivering end thereof, said pipe 19 being extended from and connected with asuitable blower or otherdevice, arranged and operated in any desirable manner, and producing the requisite current of air or other analogous fluid, asaforesaid'. The impingement of said current on the thread or yarn in the open thread-guide cpropels said thread or yarn and carries the end thereof toward the loop-wheel or burr O, which applies it to the needles B in the usual way.

The lug i and thebeveled shoulder Z on the wheel W are arranged in such relative positions as to cause the pitman d, by the medium of the rock-shaft a, to swing at the proper time the knife K off from the throat of that threadguide which contains the thread or yarn desired to be introduced in the operation of knitting, and simultaneously cut the other thread or yarn and close the thread-guide from whence it issues. The knife K is thus made to serve as a valve for permitting the blast from the blow-pipep through the thread-guide whose thread is required in the operation of knitting, andimmediatelyclosingtheotherthread-guide, whose thread it severs, thereby accomplishing the interchanging of the threads automatically and in a quick and positive manner without causing either excessive laps of threads or interruptions in the feed of the thread to the different colors and fed singlyto the machine in tle manner set forth produces a horizontally-striped single-threaded fabric. To the rear end of each thread-guide is attached a pendentcurved or segmental bar, it, upon which slides a block, m, which is retained thereon by a suitable shoulder on the lower extremity of the bar, arresting the descent of the block. From the wheel WV projects an arm, 0, adapted to engage the block at and move the same upward on its guide-bar a during the rotation of said wheel. The bar a being of such contour The aforesaid threads being of as to carry the block at off from the end of the arm 0 as said block approaches the threadguide, so soon'as the block is thus released it drops back onto the lower'extremity of its guide-bar a.

The function of the block in is to take up and carry into the thread-guide the slack of the thread between the thread-guide and the bobbin, after said thread has been severed by the knife K. The face of the block m, being coated with fine emery or other suitable substance, is capable of drawing the thread along either by friction or adhesion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the needle-cylinder and burr or loop-wheel of a knitting-machine, a tubular thread-guide arranged to deliver the thread to the burr, and a blow-pipe communicating with the interior of said thread-guide and arranged to propel, by pressure of air or other analogous fluid or gas, the thread introduced in said thread-guide, substantially as set forth. 7

2. In combination with the needle-cylinder and burr or loop-wheel of a knitting-machine, two tubular thread-guides, two blow-pipes arranged to force currents of air through said thread-guides, and a combined knife and valve for severing the thread and controlling said air-currents, as set forth.

3. The combin ation, with the needle-cylinder and needles, of two tubular thread-guides arranged to feed separate threads to said needles, blow-pipes for forcing currents of air through said thread-guides, a knife arranged to oscillate across the paths of the two threads, and mechanism for transmitting motion from the cylinder to the oscillating knife, all as specified.

4. The combination, with the needle-cylinder and the thread-guides c c, of the blow-pipes 19 and the combined knife and valve K, arranged to alternatelyopen and close the thread-guides,

and mechanism for transmitting motion from p the cylinder to said combined knife and valve, substantially as described and shown.

5. The combination, with the thread-guides c c, of the rock-shaft a, provided with the knife K and with the arm 7), the pitman d, engaging the arm b, and suitable mechanism for imparting an intermittent reciprocating motion to the pitman, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In combination with the thread-guides c c, the rock-shaft a, provided with the knife K and with the arm 1) and cam c, the pitman (I, having the slot .9, engaged with arm I), the springf, engaging with cam e, and mechanism for operating said pitman, as described.

7. In combination with the thread-guides c c, the rock-shaft (1, provided with the knife K, arm I), and cam c, the spring], engaging said cam, the pitman d, engaging the arm I), and

provided with the beveled foot-piece g and IIO P, lever L, needle-cylinder A, and a cam or I the arm 0, and mechanism for imparting moratchet connected with said cylinder or its tion to the wheelW,substantially as described spindle, substantially as shown and set forth. and shown.

8. The combination of the tubular thread- In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed guide 0, the blow-pipe 12, combined knife and my name and afiixed my seal, in the presence valve K, thread-lifter m, and mechanism for of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the imparting an intermittent movement to said countyof Onondaga, in the State of NewYork, thread-lifter and knife, as specified and shown. this 6th day of January, 1882.

9. The combination of the thread-guide 0, JAMES DENTON. [L. 8.] blow-pipe 19, combined knife and valve K, and mechanism for operating the same, curved bar n, sliding block on, the wheel W, provided with Witnesses G. H. DUELL, WM. 0. RAYMOND. 

